Dayl

Dayl Pytel • Columbia River Gorge

Getting hitched and then knocked up were not in my life plans. I loved being single. At 35 I couldn’t imagine a better life. I had great friends, a flexible job, and several young lovers scattered here and there. I wanted to travel, recreate and not be tied down to anyone. When asked if I wanted to get married my favorite responses were, “Why buy the pig for just a little sausage” or, “It will take a hell of a man to replace no man at all.”

Then along came Jim. Just my luck he really is “one hell of a man.”
We meet on a 19-day river trip kayaking down The Grand Canyon. You really get to know someone after 18 days of not showering, sleeping under the stars, and running bigger than life rapids in one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Jim was just my type…. young, strong and feral. He had spent the last year kayaking in Ecuador and living out of his truck. He too wanted to freedom and no commitments. Perfect! Another young lover! But after we returned from that magical landscape, the magic between us just got stronger. One year after our first kiss, he proposed besides our favorite waterfall and to my surprise I said yes. Okay, so now I had a partner to play in the water, wind and waves with. I could deal with that. Lo and behold, two years after that defining “yes,” two pink lines appeared on that well known white stick and to my surprise I once again said yes!!!!
Nine months later, a new kind of adventure began.